Paradigm Shift: Back to the Past, and No Small Talk About Smalltalk

by Benjamin L. Russell on August 25th, 2009

Those who have been reading my posts may have noticed this trend, but there has been a decided shift in the nature of my posts starting on June 18, 2009.

Specifically, prior to this date, the majority of my posts focused on Haskell, Scheme, and category theory, with a focus on purely functional programming. While I am still interested in purely functional programming, one of my other major interests is in creating a three-dimensional virtual world with some innovative functionality (I have something specific in mind).

At first, I was intent on finding a way to create such a world using a purely functional programming language. However, most purely functional programming languages do not have enough libraries to enable easy creation of such a world. Furthermore, in order to create such a world, most purely functional programming languages would require a rather sophisticated knowledge of linear algebra, which is one area of mathematics that my visiting discrete mathematics professor in college did not adequately cover, and which I have never had enough time to study fully on my own; by contrast, my favorite areas of mathematics are all related to set theory, recursive function theory (a.k.a. “computability theory”), and philosophical logic.

Therefore, I began searching for a programming language which would enable feasible writing of a three-dimensional virtual world without requiring explicit knowledge of linear algebra. Furthermore, since I was interested in programming language theory, I wanted a programming language that was at least based on a general-purpose programming language, as opposed to a domain-specific language.

After an intermittent search that lasted several months, I eventually came across a tool called “Cobalt,” based on Croquet, further based on Squeak, a dialect of Smalltalk. Unfortunately, Smalltalk is a pure object-oriented language, not a functional programming language, and after repeated attempts at approaching Squeak, the basis for Cobalt, I found the GUI-based interface rather difficult to get used to, having come from an Emacs-based textual environment. In addition, having come from a functional programming background, I found the concept of object-oriented programming highly counter-intuitive. (Apparently, I’m not the only person who has experienced this problem; similar arguments have been advanced by Paul Hudak [1] and Jonathan A. Rees [2].)

In short, I was encountering a paradigm-shift problem (with apologies to Shriram Krishnamurthi, who claims [3] that paradigms are ill-defined and hence significantly meaningless).

Here, I was faced with a dilemma: If I tried using a functional programming language, I would probably need to do a lot of work in writing the necessary libraries for the three-dimensional manipulation of graphical objects, which would additionally require learning linear algebra, which, between my full-time translation job and my busy weekends, I simply did not have enough time to learn. On the other hand, if I tried using Squeak, then every time I tried to learn the language, I would feel uncomfortable with the object-oriented paradigm, and with the GUI-based environment, and keep returning to such familiar programming languages as Scheme and Haskell, and to such development environments as Emacs.

After some thought, I realized that the problem with learning Squeak did not have to do with any inherent difficulty in Squeak itself; rather, I needed, at least temporarily, to unlearn functional programming and unlearn working in Emacs. In short, I needed to restore a blank mental slate. Well, where did I first learn functional programming and Emacs? Ah, that’s right: in college.

Although I couldn’t actually un-attend college, I could, in a sense, restore my mental state to just before attending college: What I needed to do was to go back to the past, mentally speaking, to just before college, and approach Squeak with a fresh mind. To borrow Scheme terminology, I needed to resume the continuation in the process of my life from just before attending college: Then it would be straightforward.

One night, just after midnight on Thursday, June 18, 2009, I was walking back home, reminiscing: Let’s see … what was I doing back then. Going back in time …

2009,
2008,
2007 (changed jobs again, and became patent translator),
2006 (became patent checker, then changed jobs, and became software project leader),
2005,
2004 (moved from Manhattan to Tokyo),
2003,
2002 (political difficulties at work; job further downgraded to English teacher),
2001 (WTC disaster in Manhattan, where I lived; severe downsizing at workplace resulted; job downgraded to Materials Coordinator),
2000,
1999 (became Localization Coordinator at Berlitz),
1998,
1997 (first moved to Manhattan from New Rochelle, NY),
1996 (began first major job as Systems Engineer in White Plains; moved to New Rochelle from Jersey City),
1995 (first moved to Jersey City from New Haven),
1994 (graduated from college),
1993 (took courses in recursive function theory, philosophical logic, and the lambda calculus, especially enjoying the lambda calculus; first exposure to Haskell in auditing a course on Haskell),
1992 (finished leave of absence and self-study of discrete mathematics; took a course in axiomatic set theory),
1991 (began leave of absence and self-study of discrete mathematics),
1990 (took a course on Pascal and hated it; embarked on Computer Science major; started learning Common Lisp and Scheme: hated Common Lisp because of all the funcalls and idiosyncracies, but enjoyed Scheme because of the relative simplicity and regularity of structure of the language; started learning Emacs; learned how much I did not know, and how stupid I was, and became chronically depressed),
1989 (moved from Tokyo to New Haven, and matriculated at college).

1989. Ah, there: Continue from the continuation of my life-process at that point: the early afternoon of August 31, 1989, just before leaving for Narita Airport to go to New York to take the bus therefrom to New Haven to begin my (dreaded) college studies.

No Emacs. No Scheme. No Haskell. No category theory. No chronic depression. Return of math phobia. Return of Japanese popular music. Return of a simple mind which is not depressed because it does not know how much it does not know. Return of interest in multimedia. Aha!

Multimedia: the missing link! At that time, I was very interested in the Fujitsu FM Towns, a Japanese personal computer modeled on the Macintosh, the interface of which was based on Smalltalk [4]! Proceeding to Smalltalk from this continuation would be relatively trivial!

Sometimes, one needs to move backward in order to move forward.

So I decided to resume my continuation from this point on, with a fresh mind.

Resuming continuation….

I awoke, as if from a trance.

The next day, I returned to my computer, continuing the continuation. Suddenly, this strange text-based interface on my screen called “Emacs” seemed like a monstrosity that some text-based hacker must have concocted just for the sheer challenge of mastering arcane keystroke-combinations. Yuck! There must be a way to do programming without having to master arcane keystroke-combinations.

Let’s see; where can I find a point-click-drag interface that allows me to program without having to use a textual editor … preferably, one similar to the graphical user interface of the Fujitsu FM Towns, based on the user interface of the Macintosh….

Hmm … a colorful background with illustrations. Sound. Multimedia. Point. Click. Drag. How intuitive: just like the Macintosh interface! Hmm … some research shows that it is an implementation of a language called “Smalltalk,” the interface of which was the basis for the Macintosh … what a coincidence … how curious…. I wonder who put it here….

Hmm … found a note here. It says, “Note to myself: Learn Squeak and Cobalt, and build a virtual world using Cobalt, using ideas described on the attached sheet.” Sure; why not?

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The shift of Microsoft away from the Win32 API to the .net platform (and the ascsioated presentation foundation) has not helped and would mean a dedicated development effort of sufficient intensity that we just can’t commit to it given the potential returns.What really killed it was this commitment to one platform. I remember reading a presentation by an old software developer and the things he learned: commit to standards and commit to open platforms. UNIX is open and it’s still standing. OTOH, these guys aren’t the only product Microsoft killed.

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If you want to see an application built with Cincom you have to give them retalyios for each sale. I just can’t see putting up with that in this day and age. It’s like they’re stuck in the 80s.I would’ve loved to use Dolphin to build XP apps.Seaside is cool, I could see using it with Squeak, for web apps with really complex interaction. But for any site the might get huge I’ll use Erlang.Sad day.

and the hundreds of pages of renagdis i have to read and catch up on.recently, i was logged into my girlfriends online chat, and i found out that she was talking with another guy asking if he could get her some vodka to take to a hotel for a school event with thousands of coeds. she was going to attend. she told him that she and her friend (female) were going to have the a room to themselves in hotel and get totally f*cked up. When i read this, i was completely devastated. Nothing but horrific images came to my mind and i felt betrayed in a way because i have always trusted her, and we have had serious talks about drinking alcohol and about partying before. And to see this thing going on behind my back is devastating to me. the next day i tried to hint it out if she could tell me if she was planning something behind my back or is she was thinking of doing something. she kept denying it but i knew she didn’t want to admit it. i finally broke out and told her i knew about her plans and that i cannot trust her anymore if she was going to do these kinds of things behind my back. yet instead of feeling any sorrow for the promises she broke and heartbreak she caused, she gets mad at me for spying on her. i do respect her privacy but this time i felt suspicious of her and consequently caught her in the act. so she tells me that she does not want to hear or talk to me ever again forever. i took that comment to the heart and felt as if she was breaking up with me. so then i told her we were done . then shecompletely flips out on me and basically talks sh*t about me and how im not good enough for her. blah blah .. so then later that evening i asked if we could talk and work it this problem. and i apologized to her and everything (even though it wasnt my fault) and she wouldnt take me back. she decided we should just be friends for a while and take a break.i really love her and this is the first time we have ever crossed the line of breaking up, but i just want to fix things with her. but all she tells me is that its my fault for breaking up with her. and im the one being blamed for everything, when in reality, it was she that was doing things behind my back and she basically broke it off with me (by telling me she does not want anything to do with me anymore ever again) .. all i did was say we’re done and now im being blamed for everything.i have been trying to fix things with her and she told me that she wants a break (no communication, no texting, email, nothing whatsoever) until the time is right. after a day or two she sent me a couple messages saying hi and we talked, then the day after we hung out. and we ended up kissing, everything had gone great, romantic dinner, fun evening, happy conversations then the next day she emails me saying that she still feels that im a complete asshole for breaking up with her and that we should go on a break again. this really breaks my heart because i feel as if i have become a complete stranger to her and she calls me by my first name now as if im some random guy talking to her.. im just really scared that she wants to go on this break so that she could move on and forget about me. i really dont know what to do anymore. she keeps bringing up the fact that i broke up with her when in fact it was her fault and i only feel worse about myself for something i shouldnt even be getting blamed for. i really want this relationship to workout for us and i want to put all this mess behind us but she doesnt see it that way and she doesnt want to talk or see me anymore.i want to fix things with her but i dont know how. she wants space but i want to talk and fix things. i really believe we can both work this out by communication, but shes giving me the silent treatment. what should i do???

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About

Benjamin L. Russell is a patent translator currently working in Tokyo, Japan. He was exposed to Scheme and Haskell in college, and is especially fascinated by Scheme continuations. After graduating, he discovered Croquet, a Squeak Smalltalk-based technology for developing interactive virtual 3D worlds, and is currently interested in using this technology to create a virtual world in which users can not only play, but also work, study, and carry out financial transactions. His dream is to harbinger a virtual world version of Alvin Toffler’s “The Third Wave,” which he terms “The Fifth Wave.”